Long day yesterday but a great and productive one.
I knew my hay crew would be coming at oh-dark-thirty in the morning, but I had no idea they would finish the job in lightning speed.
So, the day before on our way back from Boulder City we stopped at Super 1 in Bonners Ferry to purchase several easy-to-serve items for a hay-crew "lunch."
Chicken, salads, fruit and pies.
I prepared some garlic bread from a home-made loaf the night before and figured that about halfway through their work, I'd warm up the chicken.
I prepared some garlic bread from a home-made loaf the night before and figured that about halfway through their work, I'd warm up the chicken.
Lightning speed meant the crew started at 5 a.m. and finished putting the last bale in the barn at 6:30 a.m.
So, a hastily-prepared lunch out in our front yard, with social distancing, came about the time most folks are sipping on their first cup of morning coffee.
The time of day with all those lunch-type eats didn't mean anything to the hard-working young men. They happily dished up their plates, some twice, and cleaned up a good portion of the offerings.
In addition to the early-morning feast, we all enjoyed some good visiting.
The crew included a soon-to-be lawyer, a digital design specialist, a mechanical engineer and a young man who would like to be first in his family to go to college.
The crew included a soon-to-be lawyer, a digital design specialist, a mechanical engineer and a young man who would like to be first in his family to go to college.
So, there was plenty of interesting conversation.
Once they went on their way, Bill announced he was going to make a Costco run to Coeur d'Alene. Once the meal stuff was cleaned up, I headed out to clean up the hay chaff in front of the barn.
The crew had loaded ten bales on the white pickup bed, so I drove over to my sisters' where we unloaded the hay.
CB will be moving to their place sometime next week to go to school. We opted for one-on-one education for CB as opposed to to remote learning.
It just seems more appropriate for training horses. So, CB will continue his ground training, and by the time he returns home, he'll be used to working with a bit and a saddle and dealing with a hose for bathing, among other items.
I figure next spring someone will climb on him and continue his training under saddle. CB is not yet 3 years old, so we think it's wise that he have more time for his body to mature.
Anyway, once the hay was delivering, I finished chores I usually do in the morning and then hauled the tarps upon which the hay stack had sat over to Brian Johnson's farm.
Yesterday was my first visit to Brian and Loretta's neatly organized, tidy and attractive farm which sits on a hill providing them a wonderful vista of the Oden area as well as the Selkirk Mountains.
With hay in the barn and a definite sense of relief that this year's hay is in the barn, I even allowed myself some time to enjoy visiting with Brian.
We shared lots of stories of old-time days of our lives living in the Sandpoint area community, much of which revolved around farming and 4-H memories.
I loved the visit, just as I did earlier this morning with another farmer Ben Wood who stopped for a few minutes while I was out getting the paper.
The bond connected with the soil and the crops and the farm life and its local lore in general is strong. And, so one can always count on good talks with folks who've grown up connected to the rural landscape.
Back to yesterday, more harvests began---in this case, my berry patches. Raspberries are coming on fast, and I'm quite happy with their size this year.
This has been a strange year for ripening times. I'm still waiting for the blueberries to turn blue. Fred Omodt, who pruned the bushes last year, has been anxious to learn how my berry crop flourished this year.
I told him a while back that when they ripened, I'd have more information. Seven berries picked yesterday hardly provides enough data for a thorough report, but those ever-growing clumps of green berries hold great promise.
I was also mystified earlier when the asparagus crop seemed a bit sparse this year. Turns out it must have been waiting for the rains to stop and for warmer weather cuz I'm still picking handfuls this year----when usually the crop quits producing about July 1.
So, like everything else in this strange year of 2020, we just have to go with the flow.
Speaking of strange, we had a thunder storm with rain last night, followed by yet another double rainbow. I keep hoping that these beautiful phenomena are signs of better times ahead.
Our American population could certainly use a few reasons for optimism.
Happily the beautiful aspects of nature have been rather generous in giving us some nuggets of positivity.
Gotta keep clinging to those moments to combat the negative news.
As one op-ed columnist stated this week, things are bad every day and the only thing that could get worse is "tomorrow."
Let's hope for a change in that trend. One way may be several "tomorrows" away, but still could "harvest" a dramatic turnaround: VOTE
Meanwhile, in the short run, help shorten misery of the Pandemic: wear a mask in public settings and keep your distance!
Happy Saturday.
Once they went on their way, Bill announced he was going to make a Costco run to Coeur d'Alene. Once the meal stuff was cleaned up, I headed out to clean up the hay chaff in front of the barn.
The crew had loaded ten bales on the white pickup bed, so I drove over to my sisters' where we unloaded the hay.
CB will be moving to their place sometime next week to go to school. We opted for one-on-one education for CB as opposed to to remote learning.
It just seems more appropriate for training horses. So, CB will continue his ground training, and by the time he returns home, he'll be used to working with a bit and a saddle and dealing with a hose for bathing, among other items.
I figure next spring someone will climb on him and continue his training under saddle. CB is not yet 3 years old, so we think it's wise that he have more time for his body to mature.
Anyway, once the hay was delivering, I finished chores I usually do in the morning and then hauled the tarps upon which the hay stack had sat over to Brian Johnson's farm.
Yesterday was my first visit to Brian and Loretta's neatly organized, tidy and attractive farm which sits on a hill providing them a wonderful vista of the Oden area as well as the Selkirk Mountains.
With hay in the barn and a definite sense of relief that this year's hay is in the barn, I even allowed myself some time to enjoy visiting with Brian.
We shared lots of stories of old-time days of our lives living in the Sandpoint area community, much of which revolved around farming and 4-H memories.
I loved the visit, just as I did earlier this morning with another farmer Ben Wood who stopped for a few minutes while I was out getting the paper.
The bond connected with the soil and the crops and the farm life and its local lore in general is strong. And, so one can always count on good talks with folks who've grown up connected to the rural landscape.
Back to yesterday, more harvests began---in this case, my berry patches. Raspberries are coming on fast, and I'm quite happy with their size this year.
This has been a strange year for ripening times. I'm still waiting for the blueberries to turn blue. Fred Omodt, who pruned the bushes last year, has been anxious to learn how my berry crop flourished this year.
I told him a while back that when they ripened, I'd have more information. Seven berries picked yesterday hardly provides enough data for a thorough report, but those ever-growing clumps of green berries hold great promise.
I was also mystified earlier when the asparagus crop seemed a bit sparse this year. Turns out it must have been waiting for the rains to stop and for warmer weather cuz I'm still picking handfuls this year----when usually the crop quits producing about July 1.
So, like everything else in this strange year of 2020, we just have to go with the flow.
Speaking of strange, we had a thunder storm with rain last night, followed by yet another double rainbow. I keep hoping that these beautiful phenomena are signs of better times ahead.
Our American population could certainly use a few reasons for optimism.
Happily the beautiful aspects of nature have been rather generous in giving us some nuggets of positivity.
Gotta keep clinging to those moments to combat the negative news.
As one op-ed columnist stated this week, things are bad every day and the only thing that could get worse is "tomorrow."
Let's hope for a change in that trend. One way may be several "tomorrows" away, but still could "harvest" a dramatic turnaround: VOTE
Meanwhile, in the short run, help shorten misery of the Pandemic: wear a mask in public settings and keep your distance!
Happy Saturday.
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